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Botnets to go

Security services provider Finjan has released a report from its Malicious Code Research Center analysing a trading platform for botnets. According to the report, the underground trade in infected computers offers a comprehensive menu of botnets at locations all around the world. Some Far Eastern networks can be had for a mere $5 a thousand PCs.

Criminals can buy and sell botnets on the "Golden Cash" platform (tagline: Your Money Making Machine). Prices vary according to the botnet's location. Whilst 1,000 zombie PCs in Japan can be picked up at bargain basement prices, buyers wanting a botnet, for example, in Australia will have to pay up to $100 for 1,000 computers. Criminals can also place orders for specific botnet sizes in specific regions and wait for offers.

Golden Cash also provides its 'partners' with exploit tool kits for infecting PCs and manipulating websites. The functions carried out by Golden Cash bots include collecting FTP access data for websites to allow criminals to obtain access to the sites in order to embed browser exploits. All in all, Finjan's assessment indicates that the platform represents a highly lucrative system. See Finjan's report for further details – Cybercrime Intelligence Report, Issue 2.